Fighting crime in a wetsuit?
by Beth Bo-Bomb
Summary: Taylor just lost her father in a mob accident, and Moves to Dave's school. She's on the bad side of the 'popular' girls, and makes friends with the nerdy Dave- will she be able to let go of the mob? or will she be beside Dave in his Kickass wetsuit?
1. In The Beginning and New School

**AN: Ok so...this is mainly just a tester to see if people actually like it; the start might be a bit rocky, but Ive already got a few chapters ready if people actually like it- if not I'll do some major re-writing ^^ I'm not very good at writing a little more seriously, so the starts shorter than usual, and there is definetly going to be a little humor added in eventually so...yeah. PLEASE REVIEW! **

I stared at the TV in silence, my mind rushing as what was being said processed in my head. Man killed in mob incident. No suspects. No witnesses. Warehouse. Body found two days ago.

Tear stung and whipped at my eyes as I struggled to keep myself together. The name burned on the inside of my lids as I closed my eyes. Images scattered my brain. The reporters words turned into a distant buzzing as I finally realised what this meant.

My dad was dead.

He had been the bystander. He had been the innocent person caught up in all of this. And I couldn't help but think that the way the reporter spoke about him made it seem like his fault...

This made me inexplicably angry. How dare they suggest it was his fault? That he walked in there purposely and deliberately got himself killed by a bunch of fucked up junkie- he wouldn't...

A knock at the door cause me to jump out of my thoughts, and gasp slightly. Thoughts of the gangsters finding me to finish off any ties sprung into my mind, but then I realised it was silly; he'd just been a bystander, no connections.

I bought a baseball bat and propped it by the door just in case, and made sure I knew the quickest way out the apartment.

When I opened it I found the man who lived across my hall, Brian. He was tall, muscley, with dark skin and kind brown eyes. He was the same age as my dad and they were close friends, having gone to college together; he was here all the time, and he ran the gym across the road.

"Taylor...I'm sorry..." He said quietly, looking at me closely, trying to figure out my reaction. I stared at him for a moment, then something seemed to click inside of me.

I threw myself at him, and his arms instantly wrapped tightly around me, holding me close. Silent tear ran down my cheeks, and I occasionally let out a whimper.

"Shhh...you can stay with me Tay, don't worry. Just you and me- no foster shit going on." He said, and I let out a tiny smile at this.

"Promise?" I asked, with huge eyes.

He nodded and smiled, keeping me close.

"Promise- I won't let anybody so much as think about taking you away.

* * *

><p>-FIVE YEARS LATER-<p>

I sighed as I remembered the night of my dad's death. It happened every night. The same reporter buzzing in my head. The same headline. Same story. Of course, that was when I was twelve...but there was still a void where my dad was, however much Brian tried for me.

I sighed and got up, walking over to the mirror to begin my routine. Put as little foundation on my face as I could get away with, mascara, eyeliner, lip balm, done. Now clothes.

I grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans and a superman tank top, shoving on some bright blue converse, and then quickly straightening my shaggy blonde hair, before running downstairs.

"Hey Bri." I said with a small smile as I leaned against the counter boredly.

"Hey Tay- ready for your new school?" He asked with a smile.

About a week ago we had finally moved out of the apartment; I had contributed a lot of the money my dad had left me to the new house, only keeping a small fund he'd started when I was younger that he'd put in his will to only use for me. Unfortunately, Brian had seen it, so I couldn't donate that part. But everything else went towards this- a new life.

"Kay kiddo- you know the way." He said, chuckling me a bottle of water, then handing me ten bucks for lunch.

"So do you..." I said under my breath as I shrugged my hoodie on, grabbed my bag and walked out the door. It didn't take and idiot to realise that he'd been following me practically everywhere since we moved here; I knew it was because he was worried, but geez, a little privacy wouldn't kill.

I looked over at my new school; yay. One more place I wouldn't make friends. I rolled my eyes as I walked in, ignoring some of the looks from the girls; probably glaring at my fashion choice or something like that.

I walked straight into the school confidently, then stood, frozen, as I realised I had no clue where admin was. Damn.

I looked around for a while, and then headed off in a random direction. As I turned the corner, something crashed into me, and we both fell to the floor. I glared at the boy who'd ran into me, taking him in as I did so. He had curly dark hair, glasses and a baggy t-shirt and jeans. He looked like the typical nerd, to be honest...though I had to admit, he was sorta cute...in some way.

"S-sorry!" He said, cringing as he picked up his bag; I noticed he had about five comic books sticking out of it. Hmm...

"You read comic books?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked shocked for a second, then tensed up slightly.

"Yeah..." His voice was defensive- I felt kind of guilty for saying it in an accusing way now...

"Oh, that's cool. You know any good stores? I just moved here and I haven't had too much time to find any good places..." I said with a shrug.

I almost laughed at the baffled expression on his face.

"Uh...yeah. I know one- maybe I could show you...?" He stammered nervously. I let out a small smile.

"Sure- I'm Taylor by the way." I added, about to walk off.

"Dave..."

"Oh wait!" I said desperately. He turned around almost straight away.

"Erm...which way is admin?"

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><p><strong>AN: Like? Dont like? Please review to let me know whether to continue ^^<strong>


	2. Lunch Time and Getting back

-FIRST CLASS-

My first class was Science- which sucked more than I thought it would. I couldn't comprehend a thing the teacher was saying; the words wouldn't stay still in my brain. Occasionally I caught something like 'alkali' or 'chemicals', but other than that it was a lost cause even trying to bother.

I didn't speak to anyone throughout the class- in fact, the only thing I'd said was 'here' during the register. I sighed and grabbed my stuff as the bell went; so far, so crap. My social skills were worse than ever today.

And, much to my luck, it was lunch. The most prominent social time of the day. Thousands of kids to talk to, and I sat my myself in the corner, as far away from said people as possible, my hair shielding my face as I stared down at the small juice box I had gotten. I didn't feel like eating what so ever at the moment.

Then a shadow came over my table, and I looked up in surprise. It was a girl, tall, skinny, pretty, brown hair, blue eyes, preppy looking, etcetera...and flanking her were her clones, all wearing pretty much the same thing. Oh god...please don't say they wanna sit with me- please don't-

"Hey mind if we sit?" Damn.

"Uh sure..." I muttered, shuffling over to make room for them at the table.

"Awesome- I'm Katie Demeraux and these are my friends, Casey, Lily and Trina!" She said brightly. Bleh, I already felt sick...

"Oh...I'm Taylor." I said, still looking down.

"Isn't that a boy's name?" The one I think was called Lily asked obnoxiously. One of the other girls wacked her and giggled.

"It can be either," I said with a glare, "Anyway, isn't Lily a flower? Funny, they don't have brains either." I said irritably. Ok, not the best insult in the world, but I wasn't the best thinker either, so there...

All of them were glaring at me.

I got up and left quickly- Then huffed and walked back when I realised I'd forgotten my juice.

When I got back there, Dave, the guy I'd met earlier, was talking to them.

"So...erm Katie, do you wanna...y'know..." He was so awkward...hehe.

"What Dave? What do I know?" She said accusingly. He looked so nervous he was practically shaking.

"Ermm...I..."

"Hey Dave." I said, smiling as I walked over.

"Oh, hey Taylor!" He said brightly; probably glad to have a distraction.

"What are you doing back here?" Sneered one of the girls, and I glared at her.

"Getting my juice." I said with as much dignity as possible-which, granted, wasn't much- before grabbing my drink and walking off again.

Well, I bet I looked stupid, leaving and returning for a half finished juice box...I'm beginning to see why I'm probably better off alone...

"Hey Taylor- wait up!" I looked behind me to see Dave jogging over to me.

"Oh, hey."

"Are you alright? You seemed a little irritated..." He said with a shrug, looking down.

"Uh, yeah. They just annoy me- then again a lot of people do..."

"Oh...sorry." I raised an eyebrow; what the hell was he sorry for? Eh, might as well leave it.

"You like her though right? That Katie chick?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Well...I think she's hot yeah..." He muttered, looking down still. I rolled my eyes slightly.

"Geez, what's so great about the floor? You seem to look at it a lot." I said with a small laugh, to try and brighten up the awkwardness. He let out a small chuckle and looked up.

"I dunno, it's a habit..." He said with a smile.

"Right, fun habit. I guess that's why you bumped into me earlier right?"

"Ha, uh yeah...I was kinda running from some dude who thought it'd be funny to steal my comics too..." He added under his breath.

"What a jerk- if he does it again just punch him or something." He looked shocked, and I looked at him innocently.

"You'd punch someone if he did that?" I smirked; he looked scared of me now.

"Oh, I'd do more than punch him; I'd rearrange his face and rip out his balls!" I said brightly. Now he looked horrified. I let out a laugh and shook my head.

"I'm just kidding; I wouldn't go that far...might give it a go though!" He laughed now too, and we carried on walking; seemed we had the next lesson together then...

BACK AT HOME

After school I'd managed to spot Brian, who'd tried- and failed- to hide in a shop across from the school, and we ended up walking home together. Back at the house, he wanted to know how I was fitting in. Oh, this should be fun...

"Uh...yeah. I spoke to someone..." I said with a shrug, flopping down at the counter in the kitchen. Brian sighed and leaned across from me.

"C'mon Tay- saying 'here' in the register or 'excuse me' doesn't count." Brian said, rolling his eyes. I rolled my eyes at this.

"Well, I'm meeting up with someone sometime- we're going to a comic store together." I said defensively. Brian's face was practically glowing.

"Really? What's their name? How old? Your age? They do go to your school right?" I glared at him- he was so doubtful of me!

"His name is Dave, he goes to my school –I hope anyway- and he's my age, sixteen. Anything else officer?" I said sarcastically. He still looked unsure.

"A boy huh? Hmmm...I dunno..."

"You haven't even met him! God, he's not exactly a jock or something- he's taking me to a comic book shop. The worst that'll happen is that I'll get pimp slapped by a nerd -geez!" I said, sighing slightly, before heading up stairs.

"Ask him round for dinner!"

"I've known him a day- that's creepy!" I called back, smiling slightly.

Once I was in my room, I grabbed an old batman comic and began reading boredly. Dave seemed quite nice- he really seemed to like that Katie chick though...granted, she hadn't been the bitchiest, but I think she was holding back- something told me she was scary when mad- but then again I wasn't exactly sweet when enraged.

Eh. At least I had something to do...whenever we were going. I got to the part in my comic when the Joker falls into a vat of toxic waste when Brian called me down for Pizza.

I watched the TV; something about another mob raid. Wonderful- another reminder of how my dad died. God I miss him...

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><p>AN: Thanks to the people who commented and faved and we =D next chapter should be up soon too!


	3. Stalker

-THE WEEKEND-

It was the weekend at last and I got ready in about five minutes, yanking a hoodie over my head, before running downstairs to grab a flapjack before heading out.

"Someone's eager." Brian said chuckling from his place on the couch. Knowing him, he'd probably been up for ages- he went on a run in the mornings at about five thirty and came back around six- he liked to know his way around places and get to know people nearby- no doubt we were having someone round tomorrow.

"We're having some people round tomorrow- he's bringing his son." And there it is. Huh. I wonder why he has that look in his eye...

"Well done, you social butterfly- I'm gonna wander round for a bit since it's the weekend and all."

"Kay- be safe. Don't want you to get 'pimp slapped by a nerd'" I laughed and walked out the house.

Dave and I had talked a little throughout the week; he said he'd take me to the comic place Monday, so I was ok with that. I had eaten lunch with him and his friends on Friday after a lot of coaxing on his part; I hadn't made any other friends and he said he didn't want me to sit by myself, which I suppose was nice, but I'd rather be sitting by myself somewhere...His friends were cool though...

The place we lived in wasn't exactly heaven to be sure. It was more between hell and a dumpster...with a little bit of graffiti here and there. Then again, as soon as you got out the backstreets, the place brightened up a bit.

I shifted my backpack a little further up my shoulders as I walked; luckily there weren't that many people about, but that didn't mean this place was entirely 'safe'.

I heard footsteps behind me, and they were getting quicker. Shit- I didn't wanna be mugged! Brian would never let me out again! I walked a little quicker, fear running through me.

Oh god, I wonder if this is what my dad felt like? It was a great setting for this time of thing too- it was slightly foggy, still a bit dark since it was only about seven and there was hardly anyone about...if there was, I still doubt they'd help...

My hand wrapped round the pepper spray Brian had given me, finally thanking him for his insecurities. I slowly slid it out of my pocket. The footsteps were so close now- I could even hear the person breathing. Oh god, what if I couldn't defend myself? Pepper spray could only hold them down for so long- and I wasn't exactly a 'sporty' type.

Then it finally happened. A hand rested on my shoulder and I finally snapped.

"Get off!" I yelled, spinning around and spraying the pepper spray straight into the persons eyes.

"Owww!" Hey, that voice sounded familiar...My eyes widened as I realised as soon as I figured out who I'd just sprayed.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry It's short but I'll post asap XD I mean it this time lol<p> 


	4. Extra Strong Pepper Poison

"Dave...I'm so sorry." I said, still in slight shock. I had taken him back to my house to help clear his eyes; luckily Brian had gone out to go shopping or something.

"It's ok- I'm sure you didn't mean to...right?" He sounded so unsure...which only made me feel worse.

"I didn't! I was just freaking out, cause of the fog and the no people and- you didn't exactly help, I mean walking up to a girl slowly in the early morning and grabbing her shoulder?" I said defensively.

"Oh...haha, suppose it wasn't such a good idea huh?" He said with a small smile. I smiled along with him, then handed him a cloth filled with ice to put over his eyes.

"If it's any help you look gross." I said with a smile as I sat down on the couch next to him.

"Oh yeah- that's helpful- thanks!" He said with a small laugh, sighing as he put the cold cloth onto his burning eyes.

It was true though; his eyes were all red and puffy, tears dribbling down his face and the skin around his eyes was all swollen and painful looking.

"Yeesh, what kinda spray is that? Usually it stops by now!" He said, cringing as he pressed the cold fabric harder against his eyes.

"Heh, knowing Brian, probably some kind of extra strong pepper poison or something- you can have one if you want. He keeps practically a whole cupboard." I said with a grin.

"Why? So I can get you back?" We both laughed.

"C'mon, I'll show you how scary Brian is." I said with a grin, grabbing his hand and leading him upstairs.

DAVE POV

Taylor was amazing- as soon as I saw her, I thought she was beautiful, but she seemed so nice too. When she saved me from making a complete idiot of myself in front of Katie, I found myself really liking her; we spent the next lesson together talking about our lives; I told her about my mum, and she opened up about her dad. She hadn't gone into much detail, but I knew not to push the subject.

My friends had thought it was stupid; they thought me going after Katie was stupid, but this girl was way out of my league. She had shaggy golden hair, gorgeous face and beautiful amber eyes that seemed to reflect her mood.

So when I saw her walking down the street, looking just as good in a hoodie and jeans, I'd walked up to her. I had been a bit nervous at first, wondering what I could say, so I hung behind her a bit- guess it wasn't such a good idea to walk just behind someone in a place like this- especially after her dad had died in an incident similar to what she must have thought I was doing.

Even so, I didn't think she turn around and spray mace in my eyes.

Then again, with darkness comes light- she'd actually taken me into her house!

It was a nice place, fairly big, a couple of boxes laying around, so they'd obviously just moved.

She was currently holding my hand and leading me upstairs; I think this is the closest I've been to a girl's room before...I had to be careful the excitement didn't go other places though...I glanced down at my crotch and almost sighed in relief- thank god I hadn't gotten a hard on yet...but then again, it was only a matter of time if she kept on holding my hand like this...

She led me through a door, into a room that was definitely not hers; it was filled with gym equipment, running shoes, random energy drinks and sweat pants strewn across the place, not to mention a few mysterious looking boxes.

"This is Brian's room." She said, dropping my hand and walking over to one of the boxes.

"He's training to be a police man over here; he used to own a gym. It means a lot of cool stuff for me; I guess your kinda lucky I didn't bring the taser with me; your balls would've fried!" She said with a small chuckle, and I laughed along slightly, thought my hand instinctively reached down and I cringed slightly.

She seemed to notice this as she laughed slightly.

"And here is the freakiness of Brian." She said dramatically, and my eyes widened slightly as I saw the contents of one of the boxes she'd opened. In the lid, strapped down were about twenty cans of mace, all fairly large, with 'extra strong' written across them. Alongside that, there were at least ten tasers and refills, along with five pen knives and a steel baseball bat.

"Fuck...remind me not to get on the bad side of this guy!" I said in shock and Taylor laughed, grabbing a can of spray and a taser, chucking them over at me.

"So you can counter attack any more psychos with mace." She said with a wink.

"As long as I call your name before walking over, I think I should be good." We both laughed and she smiled at me.

"Hey...wanna see my room? You might as well stay a while if you have nothing to do." Taylor said with a shrug, walking over to the door.

I'm sure Toddie and Marty will forgive me for passing up smoothies with them if they knew I was with someone so pretty...

"Yeah I got nothing to do!" God I sounded eager- I'm surprised she hadn't kicked me out the house, calling me a perv to stumble my way blindly home. I'm pretty sure that's what Katie would do...

"Awesome- we might wanna move into my room; trust me, Brian would rather me have a hoard of cocaine in my room instead of a guy in his!" She said brightly, before grabbing my hand, and pulling me lightly across the hall. I'd like to think she was doing this cause she liked me, but I'm pretty sure it was because my eyes were still watering a lot.

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><p>AN: so what do you think? Good? Bad? Wanna kill me? (I know I do ^^) please comment- negative or positive, both are appreciated!<p> 


	5. A dress?

-TAYLORS POV-

Poor Dave- he was still crying. He had told me earlier that his eyes were watering, but I'm pretty sure they were tears...I mean, this isn't the first time I've made someone cry, since I went through a phase when I basically screwed at everyone, but I actually felt bad this time, because Dave seemed like a nice guy.

When we got in my room I glanced at him and saw him smile a bit. I let out a small laugh.

"What?" He asked, sounding worried. I smirked slightly.

"It's just...when you smile like that; you look funny because your eyes are all squinty and puffy." I said with a grin. He looked baffled.

"Hey- you're supposed to be being nice to me!" At first I thought he was angry, but when I looked at him, he was trying not to smile.

"Yeah yeah- I gave you ice right? That's as good as it gets!" I said with a smile, letting go of his hand which I'd forgotten I'd been holding and flopping down on my bed, patting the duvet next to me. He sat awkwardly beside me, looking round the room, a small smile on his lips.

"So- when are you gonna show me that comic book shop?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He shrugged.

"I dunno- how bout after school on Monday? We have last lesson together right?" He asked, looking over at me. I nodded.

"Yeah- sure."

We swapped numbers, to keep in touch before he left- luckily, Brian wasn't home yet. I watched him leaving from the door, letting out a laugh as he stumbled slightly. His eyes were pretty much ok now- it looked like he had been crying...which he had, but still.

About ten minutes after he'd left, Brian walked in through the door.

"Ok, I got some stuff for tonight- the guy's coming over about six...He's really important, saw me running and we got talking. Last name's D'amico or something...high up, anyway. He was in a limo!" He said with a smirk.

I raised an eyebrow boredly- Brian was always trying to invite people round. Something about a 'sense of community' or whatever. But a guy in a limo was a first.

I saw him staring at me and narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

"What?" I asked with a sigh. He shrugged and started putting the groceries away, sneaking glances when he thought I wasn't looking. I huffed and turned to him.

"Ok, you wanna say something. What?" I demanded, glaring slightly.

"It's just...he was in a limo...in a SUIT, and he has a son so..." It clicked. He was staring at what I was wearing.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I asked, looking down.

"Well, I'm just saying...wearing a hoodie and jeans in front of a man in a suit...maybe try a dress?" My eyes widened in horror. Hell no.

"Come on, just this once? I'll give you fifty dollars..." I bit my lip and nodded slowly, heading up stairs.

Great. I have to wear a freaking dress...


	6. Note To Self: AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

I sighed as I looked at myself in a mirror, shaking my head slightly. It was one that Brian had gotten me a while back when we'd gone to some restaurant for his birthday, and was the only one of the three dresses I owned that didn't make me look either promiscuous or girly.

It was a plain white strapless one that flowed out from the waist and had small black bows across the bottom. I didn't like the bows so much, but you win some and lose some, right?

I paired it with a pair of black flats and eyeliner- I even put lip gloss on so that Brian wouldn't get all girly on me.

A knock on the door signalled the arrival of our guests. I groaned and chucked the batman comic I was reading to the side, not wanting to move.

"TAYLOR!" Dammit, I hated when he used that tone with me…it was the tone that said 'get your ass down here before I go up there and drag it down'…and when I say drag, I mean literally. I still had bruises from last year when I refused to meet one of his girlfriends…

I got up and quickly moved downstairs, walking into the dining room where the guests were already sat.

The man sat next to Brian was the first to notice me. He had a receding hairline, and a fancy suit that looked way too expensive due to the fact that it was sat at an old table laden with spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. What little hair he had was slicked back against his scalp, and I took an instant disliking to the guy.

His son was creepy too…he had dark hair- more so than his dad, obviously, and a bored look on his face as he turned…which then changed into a more interested one as he took me in, making me nervous. He wore a suit that was almost identical to his dads, though his tie was blue instead of the royal purple that his dad wore a little too pompously.

"Um…hi."

"Nice of you to join us, Taylor. Take a seat." Brian had a smile on his face, but the coldness in his voice was still there. I'd only taken five or ten minutes to get down, not like I spent an hour…

Though as I sat down next to the creepy guy's creepy son, I wished I had.

"Mr D'Amico was just saying that his son here, Chris, goes to your school."

"Ohhhh, you're the one who fell out the limo the other day, aren't you?" I knew he looked familiar- I saw him trip the other day as he was getting out of the fancy car he was in. No one had laughed until the car had driven away, though it was very tempting…especially when he stumbled a bit whilst trying to keep his dignity.

Chris turned red, and Brian kicked me under the table. I shot him an innocent look, cringing slightly as he stabbed a meatball warningly.

"Well…actually it was a Bentley…but yeah…um, that was me." He looked a little irritated by the question, and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes that he'd thought the type of vehicle he was in would save his dignity.

"Oh…well yeah, he does go to my school then." I shrugged and dug into my food, glancing up to see that D'Amico was glaring at his son like it was his fault I'd embarrassed him.

"So, you're a pretty girl. Got a boyfriend?" Chris and I both choked on our food, before looking up to see D'Amico looking at me casually.

"Um…no. Not really…why?" I had to ask, though it was pretty clear what his intentions were.

"I just think you and Chris would make a nice couple. That's all." I started shovelling food into my mouth as fast as possible to avoid talking, and to get all of this over and done with as soon as possible.

I glanced over to see Chris looking at me, and tried not to cringe. He seemed just as creepy as his father.

Just as I finished my food, I felt something on my leg. Oh god, don't let it be his hand, don't let it be his- Yup. It was his hand.

I slapped it off my leg under the table and stood up quickly.

"I have some homework to do…bye." I didn't wait for Brian to reply before I bolted from the room, glad I didn't wear heels as I ran up the stairs, closing and locking my door quickly.

Ok, note to self: avoid Chris at ALL COSTS.


	7. Chris is A Stalker?

Buzzzzz

"Nnnngh…."

Buzzzzz

"Ugh…"

Buzz-BANG!

"Stupid clock…"

"Taylor! Have you broken your alarm clock again?!" Brian burst into the room and scowled at the springs and cogs that lay scattered across the floor, in front of the mark on the wall where it'd impacted.

"No…It threw itself across the room…" My voice was muffled by my pillow as I smacked my head into it as Brian ripped open the curtains, letting light flood in and burn my eyes.

"Haha, very funny. Now get up- its school today." I groaned again, clinging to the blanket as he tried to pull it off me.

"C'mon Tay- why don't you wanna go? Are you getting bullied?" I lifted my head up to glare at him.

"No, but I'll probably get sexually harassed by Chris AGAIN." He rolled his eyes at me.

"Yeah yeah, you wouldn't shut up about it all weekend, and I've already told you- he's a boy. He has a crush on you. Deal with it, and don't try and make him out to be some sort of sexual predator."

"Fine…but get out, I don't want TWO sexual predators." He snorted and threw my duvet at me before leaving quickly, and I smiled, cracking my back, before grabbing some clothes quickly.

It looked nice out…shorts it is. I paired it with a space invaders jumper and converse, before grabbing my bag and heading downstairs.

I yelled a quick goodbye to Brian, before heading out.

There was a Bentley waiting at the end of the drive. Oh GOD no.

I walked quickly down, turning abruptly and picking up the pace, cringing as the car started to crawl after me, stalking me down the pathway.

"Hey, do you want a lift to school?" I sighed and looked up to see Chris looking at me through his open window, a pair of sunglasses resting over his eyes, though it looked more like a sorry attempt at coolness.

"No. I'm fine. Thanks." I was practically jogging along the pathway now, hoping that I could reach the small alleyway that provided a short cut before he got out or something.

"Are you sure? It's a long walk, and this car is really comfy…"

"I'm so sure it's not even funny- and I know short cuts, so it's ok." I gave him a tight smile and waited for him to drive off. No such luck.

"Really? I have…um…comics. Brian mentioned you were into them. Maybe we could go to the comic book store together sometime…y'know, if you want."

"Umm…that's ok, really. I'm already going with someone, but again. _Thanks._" I tried to make my voice a little harder, trying to motion with my eyes that he should move the fuck on, but apparently the sunglasses not only blocked his eyes, but his brain too. He continued to car stalk me.

The alley was so close now…

"Who? Who are you going with? Can he buy you a tonne of comics? Cause I- Hey! Where are you going?" I turned quickly into the alley way and walked quickly through, thanking god for small miracles.

I all but ran to school, reaching another alley across from it, to show that Chris was just pulling up…and that he, along with his bodyguards, were looking for me.

What was wrong with this dude?

I cringed and leant against the wall, trying to think of a plan to avoid him…and then Dave walked past.

DAVES POV

I was walked along the sidewalk boredly, a copy of Spiderman House of M in my hands as I read it absently, wandering towards school.

Weird…Chris and his bodyguards seemed to be looking for someone. He looked pretty desperate…

And then someone grabbed my arm, yanking me into the alleyway.

"Taylor?" My eyes widened as I saw her in front of me, looking slightly panicked. She was wearing short today…uh oh. I tried to step back a bit, but the alley was narrow, meaning I could only get about seven inches between us. Thank god my jeans were a bit tight…

"Dave! I need your help." God, she said my name so nice…fuck fuck fuck, she was getting closer.

"Please?" I looked at her, and saw she was watching me expectantly. Damn, she'd ak me something.

"Um…sorry, I didn't hear?" She sighed, and smiled a bit, running her hand through her hair.

"Ok, to put it shortly…Chris is creepy and he's looking for me. I don't want to find him. Help?" I nodded quickly, wondering why she thought he was creepy…but then again, as I looked back out to him, he did look a bit desperate.

"Ok…um…what should we do-"

"I found her!" We both looked up to see one of his bodyguards jogging over towards us.

"You need to talk to Chris Ma'am, he want to apologise." Chris started walking over, past his bodyguard, straight for us. Shit, I'd promised I'd help her, what could I do?

Fuck-

And then she did something completely unexpected; something I'd probably been waiting my whole life for, and something that made Chris stop completely in his tracks, looking pissed.


	8. Who wants to be Paris Hilton?

TALYOR POV

My heart started racing as Chris walked over, straight towards the alley way. Dammit, what would make him leave me alone?

My eyes travelled over to Dave and it just seemed to click. Maybe he'd piss of if I had a boyfriend? Maybe then he'd at least quit stalking and touching me…

Before I thought it through too much, I grabbed Dave and slammed my lips against his, wrapping my arms around his neck as I did so. At first, he didn't do anything, stood frozen as I kissed him…but then he started kissing back, and I smiled slightly against his lips, pressing my body further against his.

"I…you…you said you didn't have a boyfriend!" I pulled back and shot Chris an innocent look, shrugging.

"Um…whoops?" I smiled sheepishly, and he looked disappointed, before walking off miserably. Ok…I felt a little bad now, but….I'll live with it.

As he walked off I turned to Dave, smiling slightly.

"Ha, uh…thanks. Thanks for that. I'll…we have lessons now, so yeah…you're still taking me to the comic book store." I grinned and kissed his cheek before running off quickly to my first lesson.

Oh god, what had I done? My first actual friend at this place and I'd fucking kissed him? Why did I do that? God, I hoped he didn't think I was using him…I mean, technically, I did. But…not in a mean way. I sort of did want to kiss him…and by the bulge in his pants, he wasn't too reluctant either.

Were we going out? What did that make us?

I slammed my head on the desk irritably.

"Are…you alright Miss?" I looked up to see the teacher and about half the class looking over at me.

"Uh…yeah. I have a headache." Well, _now_ I did.

"Do you want to go to the nurse?" I shook my head, and tried to carry on with my work.

"Ok, pair up!"

I didn't want to lose Dave as a friend. And I didn't feel all too great about that disappointed look Chris had given me either- but it's not like I gave him too many expectations anyway.

I'd only been here a freaking week for god sake!

"Hey, wanna pair up?" I looked up to see Dave's friend Marty looking down at me with a sheepish smile. I smiled back and nodded, shoving my stuff off the other side of my desk and gesturing for him to sit.

"So, you're coming to the comic book store with us today, right?" I nodded at him and he let out a small laugh.

"Damn, call the freaking government, a girl is actually setting foot in the place. I think it's the first time in decades." I laughed at this, shaking my head.

"Seriously? I'm sure at least one girl goes there." He grinned and shook his head.

"There's this one dude we're not too sure about, but for the most part…not in hell."

"I'm gonna be stared at, aren't I?"

"Like a fucking monument."

"Joy." He laughed.

"I see why Dave likes you- you know he has a crush on you, right?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I thought friends were supposed to keep secrets. And I had a small idea, but…I guess I know now for certain." I shrugged nonchalantly, but on the inside my heart was beating at a hundred miles an hour. What did I think of that? I'll probably be the last one to know. Fuck, what was I gonna do.

"Meh, I like embarrassing him, and since I can't get near to Katie and her little pep squad, I figured I'd make things akward for you instead." I rolled my eyes and jabbed him lightly with my pencil.

"I'm not akward about it- I really like him. I just don't know….if I like him that way." Well, that's as close as I would go- in my mind, I wasn't sure if I wanted to just be friends, or if I wanted to be his girlfriend. Damn, even fuck buddy was coming up in my head at the moment.

"At least you're thinking about it- by the way, thank you." I raised an eyebrow at this, confused.

"For what?"

"You're a lot more interesting than Katie- and it was fucking hilarious how you sprayed his face. I ran round to his house to see it. Nice job." We both started laughing at that.

Well, at least I had the friend vote going for me...Yeah, like that would make my mind shut the fuck up. I had a feeling it wouldn't be too easy…

"…Assignments in for tomorrow. You should have done them this lesson." The teacher shot me and Marty a glare, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Joy- one more thing to worry about.

"Wanna go to the library at lunch?"

"Like we have a freaking choice."

* * *

><p>-LUNCH TIME-<p>

Marty and I were both sat at the table, trying not to fall asleep on the Geography books we were reading.

"Hey, there you are. Thanks for the heads up, jackass." Todd wacked Marty with his book and flopped into the chair next to him, whilst Dave sat down next to me, looking a little panicked, like I was going to bite off his head or something. Going from this morning, he was probably scared that I'd jump him or something.

Dave and Todd started reading comics whilst Marty and I continued with the work reluctantly.

"Hey…what's the capital of Portugal? Isn't it like lesbian or something….?" I let out a laugh at Marty, shaking my head.

"Lisbon. You almost done?" He looked down at his paper and cringed, and I sighed, flicking over my sheet.

"Well I have, so ha." Finally glad to be finished, I reached into my bag and pulled out my IPod, starting to play some random games- there was only about ten minutes of lunch left anyway.

"Hey, guys. Why do you think that nobody's ever tried to become a superhero before?" I lifted my head, turning to face Dave curiously.

"Oh, I dunno, because it's impossible?" Marty rolled his eyes and carried on doing the assignment.

"Putting on a mask and helping people isn't impossible." Dave seemed pretty inspired by this- I could see it in his eyes.

"No, but it's crazy." Todd pointed out, and I nodded.

"Yeah- some people can really fuck you up." He shrugged, still looking like he was lost in thought.

"You'd think though, all these people who talk about wanting to be superheroes- at least one of them would do it. Not everyone gets to be a rock star, but that doesn't stop people buying guitars."

"Rockstars make money, superheroes get nothing, idiot." Marty muttered, rolling his eyes and pretending to get back to work.

"Why does everything have to be about money? Jesus, everyone wants to be Paris Hilton, and nobody wants to be Spiderman."

As he spoke, Katie and her friends walked past and burst out laughing. Marty groaned and shot Dave a mock glare.

"Gee, I bet those girls just wanna fuck the shit outta us now."

I still got his point though- you'd think that at least one nut case would try it. Helping people wasn't against the law, and god knows we needed a superhero to sort all the shit round here out.

Unfortunately, before I could agree, the bell went, and we left after arranging a place to meet after school.


	9. The Comic Book Store

Finally, the end of the day. I'd spent most of it either trying to stay awake in class, or avoiding the stares of both Chris and Dave- which was difficult. And also awkward, considering the fact that I sat in between them both during English.

I walked carefully outside; making sure that Chris wouldn't set his body guards on me or something, and made my way towards where Dave, Todd and Marty were all standing, waiting for me.

"Hey guys!" I said brightly, suddenly feeling the excitement of finally being able to go to the comic book store. Ever since my father had been killed I'd started getting an interest in them- they were a good way to help me to escape, and get my mind to quit its mindless babbling for a while.

"Someone's excited." Marty teased, grinning. I saw Dave shoot him a look, but I ignored it.

"Hell yes I am. I've been reading the same batman comic for three days. I need some new material." I said with a grin as we started to walk.

"So- who do you think would win in a fight- Deadshot or Hawkeye?" I thought carefully about Dave's question.

"Hmm…depends- are we talking hand to hand or long distance?"

"Hey, Taylor!" I jumped at the sound of my name, and saw Katie walking over, an overly bright smile on her face.

"Um…hi." I should get a freaking award for best greeting.

"Yeah…so, I was thinking- we got off to a bit of a bad start, huh?" Bad? After the episode in the canteen, at least three rumours had been spread about me, and I'd been cornered by Lily and Trina in the hallway so that they could taunt me about my sense of style.

Which I found kind of funny, since they were wearing Paul's Boutique hoodies and puff ball skirts, but there you go.

"That's one way of putting it…"I mumbled, shrugging slightly. I glanced to the side to see Dave looking freaked out and breathing a bit fast, and Todd and Marty looking both shocked and amused as they watched the exchange.

"Yeah, I heard what Lily and Trina did. I'm so sorry; they can be real bitches sometimes. So, you wanna come round to mine tomorrow? We can have a sleepover; get to know each other more!"

Think of a reason why not, Taylor. You can do it. Anything. Funeral, marriage, going to a family dinner…

"Uh…sure. Why not?" Did I just say that? Why? Why the HELL did I just say that?

"Awesome! We can meet up after school- we have last period together- and then walk back, kay?" I nodded numbly and she beamed, hugging me quickly before walking off.

I shuddered slightly.

"You okay? You almost look worse than Dave." I raised an eyebrow and turned to see Dave with a shocked expression on his face, eyes flicking between Katie's retreating form and me.

"Uh…Dave?"

"YES! I mean, uh, yeah. I'm…fine." I let out a laugh and shook my head.

"Still hung up on her, huh?" I was surprised at my ability to keep the slightly sad note out of my voice. Not that I should be sad…he could fancy who he liked. But still…

"I…don't know." He was staring at m pointedly, as if trying to figure out my feelings towards this. I shrugged and kept my face stoic.

"So, a sleepover, huh? Wanna have a naked pillow fight and record it for us?" I wacked Marty over the head for the remark, rolling my eyes at him and Todd, who started laughing too.

"Hell no. Oh god, what have I just agreed to? I feel like I've just sold my soul to the devil."

"Yeah, the pink devil. I'm sure you'll have so much fun braiding each other's hair and sharing stories about your first kiss." I snorted at Todd's words, shaking my head.

"What, do I look fucking five years old? Hell no. We'll be showing each other our underwear and describing our first fuck, not playing with Barbie dolls. You guys really haven't had much contact with girls, huh?" I asked with a grin.

My question was answered by the looks of complete shock frozen onto their faces.

"You…talk about that stuff…and do that?" Dave asked in awe, and I grinned.

"Oh yeah. All the time- I think I'll show her the awesome new corset and thong I got from Victoria's secret the other day." I added with a wink, trying not to laugh at the blush that spread across Dave's face- there was no harm in messing with him just a little. And the other two looked pretty red too.

"Uh…we're here." Marty gestured to the pretty cool looking comic book store in front of us. It had a café at the front, and a tonne of comic books and merchandise at the back.

"Awesome!" I barged straight in, heading to the back, where I started sorting through all of the batman comics, looking for any that I didn't have. Since it'd been a while since I'd last been to a comic book store, I had quite a bit of money left, raised from doing odd jobs and errands for Brian.

Time to go nuts.

"Hey…Taylor?" I looked up to see Dave there, smiling nervously. I smiled back encouragingly.

"Yeah?"

"Um…you're being stared at…by a lot of people." I slowly looked behind him to see about five boys, each wearing a different superhero t-shirts, with comic books clutched in their hands and wide eyes as they stared at me, muttering to each other excitedly.

"Jesus dude, you really don't get many girls here, huh?" He let out a laugh and shook his head.

"What gave it a way?"

"The fact that I'm being stared at like a goddess or something. Hey- do you know where they keep the Deadpool comics? I'm trying to complete the series." He grinned, and I noticed that he seemed a lot more confident and at ease than he'd been earlier- maybe it was because he was in familiar surroundings.

"Yeah, sure. I need to find one too." I grinned and followed him through the store.

* * *

><p>DAVES POV<p>

I led her through the store towards the Deadpool comics, feeling a lot more comfortable being in the place that I knew best. I was in my element here, and I felt more confident than I'd ever been in front of her.

It was so weird when Katie had come over earlier. I'd freaked out a little bit, though I blamed it on my asthma. At first, I was terrified of being so close to the two girls that I had major crushes on…but then I felt weird when I had absolutely no desire to even try to talk to Katie. Especially not with Taylor there.

Marty was really pissing me off at the moment too. Why was he talking and joking with her so much? What if she liked him better? Oh god, no. Just when I find a girl I really like, who doesn't try to get a restraining order on me or treat me like a nerdy leper, he decides to swoop in and talk to her. Fuck him.

But then again…he had told me that he'd said to her about me having a crush on her. I'd been angry at first, but then I felt like I was on top of the freaking world when she'd shown up and not shown any indication of being freaked or grossed out. That was a good thing, right?

"Dave? You've stopped walking. Have you zoned out or something?" I came back into focus to see Taylor looking amused and waving a hand in front of my face.

Shit, I just froze in the middle of the fucking store. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Uh yeah…I'm the zone." What. The. Hell.

To my surprise, she laughed.

"You're the zone, huh? Well, do you mind zoning me in the direction of the Deadpool comics?" I let out a small laugh and nodded, walking the few extra metres, and gesturing towards the shelf of Deadpool comics.

She beamed at me, and I felt a weird jerk in my stomach. Was I going to throw up? I better turn away, girls don't like that. And I say that from learning the hard way.

"You okay?" I looked back to see her paused over reaching for a comic, looking over at me curiously.

"Uh…yeah. I just felt a little sick." She nodded with a small smile.

"Oh, okay. You better not freaking throw up on me, then. Nothing you do could possibly salvage our relationship if you do." I grinned and started scanning the shelf.

Wait…relationship? What did that mean? Did it mean friends, more than friends, less than friends? Oh god, now I was feeling fucking sick again.


	10. The Dreaded Sleepover

The end of school. Oh boy. I could see her approaching me, like some sort of predator. I shot a worried look over to Dave, Marty and Todd who'd shoved me in her path as they saw her coming out. Dave gave me an encouraging grin, whilst Marty and Todd started mouthing 'Goodbye' and pretending to be shot or hung.

Nice.

"Hey Taylor!" Her voice was always so happy- like she was in some kind of cheesy commercial all the time. I wouldn't be surprised if she popped up by my window one day to offer me cleaning supplies.

"Hey..." I tried my best to smile back, but I'd never been the perkiest of people.

"I love your top- so cute! Where'd you get it?" I quirked an eyebrow and looked down to see the slightly baggy and faded Bowling for Soup top I was wearing.

"Uh…thanks. I got it from a concert a while ago. I like your…um…shoes." I took that moment to look down at the pristine white Mary Janes for the first time. Ugh…

"Awww thanks! Come on!" She grabbed my arm and started to tug me down the street happily.

For the most part, I just let her ramble on about whatever she wanted, helpfully supplying the half-assed nods and smiles she needed to carry on, without having too much input myself.

"Hey! Katie! That comic freak still stalking you?" I turned to see a large boy- obviously a jock, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He might have been good looking if it wasn't for the fact that he was wearing a full grey tracksuit, paired with a stupid red cap that he wore backwards.

"Dave? Eh, I think he has his eye on someone else, huh Tay?" She elbowed me sharply in the ribs, winking dramatically before cracking up at her own joke.

"Oh? I can see why, she's pretty fit." The guy jogged in front of me, blocking my path and stuck out his hand.

"Hey, I'm Jed. And what's your sexy little name?" Kill…me…

"Taylor." I said it bluntly and ignored his hand, hoping he'd get the hint and walk the hell away.

"Cute, I like it. Can I call you Tay? It sounds even cuter."

"No." He seemed stunned by my reaction, and a dumb look crossed his face, as though he'd just been given a math question.

Katie just giggled.

"Aww, she's just shy- why don't you come round to mine with Billy later? We're having a sleepover!" Katie grinned and looked at me, winking again.

Please say no, please say no, for the love of god pleas-

"Sure! I'll pay for pizza if you want babe. See ya later, _Taylor_." He said my name deliberately, winking and openly checking me out, before turning away and jogging after a group of boys I'd seen around school.

"That was so cool! I loved how you played hard to get- usually girls just throw themselves at him, so he'll so be hung up on you!" She squealed- as if what she told me was a good thing- and clutched my arm in a weird kind of hug.

"Now come on, we have some talking to do before the guys come over!"

Kill…me…

* * *

><p>I was currently sat on Katie's bed, in my pyjamas as we talked.<p>

I actually found her quite easy to talk to- after the initial perkiness and girly bitchiness, she was actually a really amazing person.

Not.

She'd spent the last twenty minutes describing -in a little too much detail- about her first kiss and first time. Twenty. Freaking. Minutes. I would've been better off just reading fifty shades of grey.

"So, after we, y'know, did it, he just…left. And, like, I never saw him again. It was so sad, but I suppose he did tell me that he was moving. But, like, I thought he might've stayed after we, y'know, did it."

"Well, he had planned it for five months. Oh, and he couldn't exactly abandon his five year old sister and grandmother who were already there and waiting for him…"

She nodded and pouted.

"You're so right- It would have been selfish of me to keep him here…I suppose it was right of me to just let him go…" Let him go my ass, the story she said he'd told her could've been written by a three year old- he ran.

I wish I could too…

"So, what was your first time?" She looked at me with an expectant grin and I shrugged.

"It was about a year ago, with some dude I knew that I used to go to concerts with." She nodded at me eagerly, waiting for me to carry on, "Um…it was…fun. Yup. Very, y'know. Awesome." I was getting awkward now- she seemed to want a full blown recount like the one she'd given to me.

"What happened afterwards? Was it awkward? Did he leave? Are you still in touch?" I tried not to cringe at the questions.

"Nothing…we just went home." I shrugged, and she frowned, about to say something, before she was cut off by her found buzzing loudly. She grabbed it and pouted.

"Oh no! Jed said he and Billy can't come round!" I tried to reign in the smile that was threatening to break out across my face.

"That's terrible…" I gave her my best serious face and she gave what I assumed to be a brave smile back.

"It's ok, we'll sort something out. Now, why'd you move over here…?"

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry this has nothing much to do with the main story line, but I promise to get back on track in the next two chapters- Kickass will be making an appearance soon!<p> 


	11. Who's That Guy In The Wetsuit?

Thank heaven for small mercies.

I had managed to text Brian to call me home as soon as possible, and he'd finally got it- though I'm certain he'd left it half an hour on purpose. But that didn't take away from the fact that I was incredibly relieved at getting out of that terrifying situation.

I was currently walking home in slight darkness, when something suddenly caught my eye.

I squinted slightly, unsure if it was real or some kind of fucked up hallucination.

It was a…person…dressed in a green wetsuit.

What the fuck?

Whoever it was, they were currently stumbling…straight into the road. I gasped as I saw a car coming, which he clearly hadn't noticed due to the fact that he was still stumbling- incredibly slowly- in the middle of the road

. I started running towards him, trying to yell for him to get out the road, but he didn't seem to hear.

"HEY! DUDE! GET OUT THE FUCKING ROAD, IDIOT! THERES A FREAKING CAR! ITS GONNA-"

It hit him.

A small scream escaped my mouth, as he flipped over the bonnet of the car…that kept on driving.

"Asshole…" I muttered under my breath, running over to the person's side as quickly as possible.

"Hey, are you ok?" I crouched down next to the persons crumpled body, as they lay groaning and gasping in pain on the ground. Yup, great question. I'm sure they're just fine. Really.

"Nnnggggnnhhh…" I cringed at his pained attempt to speak, looking a little closer at them.

They seemed to be wearing a full body wet suit, mask included, with…yellow doc martens? Okaayyyy…

"T-Tay…Lor…" I jumped at the sound of my name, looking down.

"How do you know my name?" I demanded quickly, a little freaked out.

"Sss…Dave…"

"DAVE?!" I ripped off the mask with probably too much force than would have been nice, to reveal that it was in fact Dave beneath the mask.

His face looked beaten and swollen, and his lip looked like it had been busted in three different places, but it was definitely him.

"What the fuck are you doing dressed like this in the middle of the fucking night? Are you fucking stupid? Why the fuck would you do that? Fuck!"

"Please…get...it…off…" My eyebrow quirked at this. Was he asking me to strip? What the…

He started tugging at his suit, and I realised what he was trying to do.

"Dude, I realise you look stupid, but do you really think this is necessary?" He shot me a look that clearly said he did. I rolled my eyes and looked left and right.

"Okay, let's just get out the road first." He nodded and I somehow managed to pull/drag him to the side of the road.

I stared at him awkwardly for a moment as he writhed a bit in an attempt to undress himself. He looked a little pathetic, so I decided to take mercy on him…however uncomfortable it might be when we get back to school.

I sighed and rolled him over, unzipping the back of his suit quickly, before rolling him back and tugging it down his shoulders.

Oh, good, he wasn't wearing any underwear.

Kill me.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, before deciding what to do.

"Ok, I'm gonna call an ambulance, you…get yourself naked, and I'll get rid of the suit before they get here, ok?" He nodded carefully and I shook my head at him.

"I don't even wanna know what possessed you to do this shit, just…don't do it again, ok? I don't want you getting hurt." We locked eyes for a moment, in silence.

That is, until he passed out.

Oh joy.

* * *

><p>-DAVES POV-<p>

I felt a strange buzzing in my head, a distant siren sounding in the back of my mind as my vision blurred into existence.

Where the hell was I?

And why was I so…cold?

Oh, right. I'm naked.

Why was that again?

The events leading up to this rushed through my head- the suit, the gang, the knife, car, Taylor, naked…wait, Taylor?

I twitched my head painfully around, looking for her, but found no one, just an ambulance heading straight for me. They stopped short when they saw me, rushing out to my aid.

Wait, I passed out before I could get fully out of my suit, so…

Heat rose in my cheeks like fire as I realised that she must have finished undressing me. And soon enough, that heat started going a little lower…

No, get your head straight, Dave. She probably just took pity on your pathetic writhing form. And she hadn't even stayed- that meant she probably didn't care. That's it. So, she stripped me and left. Nice.

Mind you, it's the furthest I've ever got with a girl.

So really it's a score on my part.

I mean, Katie would have done it- hell, she'd probably beat me even more, take photos and run away laughing, for someone else to find me and call the ambulance. I'm used to be treated like shit by girls. I really should get over it. It's normal. Any girl would leave me like this. Hell, even I would probably leave me like this.

So why do I feeling so fucking shit about the fact she didn't stay?


	12. Wakey Wakey

I ran home after calling the ambulance and stripping Dave, flustered both from the running and by the fact that I'd seen him naked. He was actually quite well muscled; I guess I never saw it from the baggy tops he always wears…

Oh great, turning red again.

I shoved open the door, to see Brian just getting his coat on. A look of pure relief crossed his face, before he lunged at me, hugging me so tight that I couldn't breathe.

"B-Bri-an…" I gasped out, cringing into his chest. He released me, and instantly started scanning my body like he was possessed.

"Jesus, what the fuck Bri?" I asked, rubbing my ribs lightly in pain.

"I heard sirens- are you ok? Did you see anyone running? It was near the area you were in, I didn't know what to do- I called and-"

"Calm down. I didn't see anyone. The sirens started about five minutes after I was left, and I started walking quickly when I heard them- Then when I started running." Lie. I started running because I was a complete wimp, and I didn't want Dave to think I was some kind of freak for sticking around and staring at his naked unconscious body.

That might be considered weird.

Besides, it ruled out a lot of awkward questioning by the police. And Brian.

"I was just going out to look for you- thank god, I was so worried! You're not going to any more sleepovers for a month, okay?" Well, miracles do happen!

"Only a month? I mean…I could have died y'know. Been mugged. Eaten. Attacked. I think you should make my punishment longer. Say…a year?" He snorted at my attempt.

"First of all, I'm pretty sure there are no cannibals living in the area. Secondly, don't make me rethink the punishment. I might change it so that you have to go to a sleepover every week. I'm sure Katie would love to help out." I scowled at him and he grinned, shoving his jacket off his shoulders.

"Now c'mon. I recorded Spiderman for you."

-DAVES POV-

Ouch.

Ouuuuuch.

Everything hurt.

_Everything. _

It was like a thousand needles were being constantly jabbed all over me, mercilessly. I felt like a pin cushion. Every breath killed me, and I couldn't move my legs.

"Dave? Dave! He's awake!"

Dad?

I couldn't speak, but I recognised the voice. Where was Taylor?

….Oh. Yeah.

I hope she comes and visits…

But then again, she did have to strip me naked. She probably ran as soon as she got down to my stomach; that or took a few pictures and had to leave because she was laughing too much.

Oh god, why did I tell her to strip me? She probably thought I was some kind of BDSM freak now, getting beaten half to death and wanting to be naked.

"Dave, speak to me son- are you awake? Can you hear me?" I managed to twitch my head slightly, and opened my eyes to a blurry scene, weird blobs moving around my vision as a groan escaped my lips.

"Oh thank god! Dave, you've been out for a week now! I was so worried. What happened? What did they do to you?"

They? What? Week?

"Unnngh?"

"Dave…there's no sign of…um…penetration. As such. But…that's not the only way they do it nowadays and-"

"NNNGGGHHH-" My voice died out into a thick cough as I realised what he was trying to tell me. He thought I was fucking raped? JESUS!

I should have seen it coming- out in the streets, close to an alleyway, in the middle of the freaking night! Oh god, it'd be all around school. What if Taylor thought it was true? For all she knew, she could have stripped me of the outfit I wore whilst working the streets.

Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no. KILL. ME.

Why didn't I just die when the car hit me? I'd be the laughing stock at school. I bet I'm paraplegic. It would be the cherry on top to find out that I've lost feeling from the waist down…not that I used it much anyway. Never with another person, more specifically.

Maybe I deserved it?

"Dave?" That…voice…

"Dave? Is he ok? Did you say he woke up? Why isn't he moving?" Oh…my…god…

Screw what I just said. I want to live. I WANNA LIVE! Don't let me become numb from the waist down, please god- if you have a heart, don't let me use this one chance I've ever had at ever being with someone other than my hand.

"Ta...y…looo…rrr?" Pathetic. First words I say to her after that, and I sound like friggin ET.


	13. Morphine and Tubes

TAYLORS POV

I couldn't help but grin as he started to stir, moaning slightly and twitching. He sounded bad when he'd said my name, but I didn't care. The fact that my name was the first sort-of-coherent word to leave his mouth since he'd woken made me feel strangely happy.

But I wasn't going to question it now- he was finally awake!

"Dave!" My voice was a lot brighter than the uncertain tone I'd adopted before, and I smiled, reaching down and skimming my fingertips across his forehead.

A drowsy, drug induced grin spread across his lips, his eyes blinking slowly as he looked up.

"Tay…lor…" I let out a small laugh at this- he was so high right now. The nurse had come in about ten seconds before I'd spoken, injecting him with morphine for his next operation, which was only a few minutes away. His dad had left the room to go grab a drink, content with knowing that his son was awake, leaving the two of us alone.

"How're you feeling?" I asked softly, wanting him to tell me he was fine. Maybe that he wasn't really going to have to spend at least five months in a wheel chair- but then again, he didn't know that yet. Maybe I should tell him…

"Not…great…" His words wheezed out of his chest and he coughed slightly.

"Yeah…I sort of figured that when I found out that you can't eat solids any more, and you need a tube to pee." I said with a shrug. His eyes widened at this.

"I…pee…out of…what?" Oh…maybe he didn't know that either.

"Yeah…that car really fucked you up. By the way- I still haven't figured out why you were wearing that suit." He let out a small, wheezy giggle, shaking his head.

"…not now…" I rolled my eyes- I was starting to think he was in some sort of wet-suit wearing cult.

"'M…not…gay…" I let out a laugh at this- so he'd managed to figure out what people had been saying, then.

"Yeah, yeah. I believe you- can't say much about the entire population of our school, but…um, hey! You can probably play the 'gay best friend' card with Katie." He let out a snort, shaking his head, before looking almost pointedly at me.

Ok, time to change the subject- skilfully, of course.

I crouched down so that I was more at eye level with him.

"You've got three more operations till you can get outta here- the next one's now." Maybe I shouldn't have been so blunt with him, but…his expression was kind of worth it.

Since he was so drugged up, his expression was a mixture of confusion, shock and slight happiness; his lips formed an 'O' shape, his eyes widened slightly, and he let out a strange noise- somewhere between a whimper and a laugh.

I patted him softly, smiling. He seemed to adapt to my emotions now, grinning lazily again.

"Wait?" His voice was still hoarse and rough, and I smiled, nodding.

"Sure." His grin spread even wider, and I laughed, shaking my head.

Just then, three nurses came in, along with a doctor.

"Ok, the next operation is now- This one is to stop any further hemorrages, and to stitch up his kidney." I nodded, and looked over to Dave, who looked a little confused.

"Hey, now you'll be able to pee without a tube!" His face turned to horror, and he tried to twist his head to look at me as his bed was rolled out, but one of the nurses pushed him back down.

Dave's dad sighed from behind me, looking after his son with worry.

"The doctors said he should be fine- might be in a wheelchair for a while, but in a few months he'll be back to normal." I tried to be reassuring, but found myself attempting to persuade myself of my words as well.

"Wanna go grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria?" I nodded straight away at his offer, and we both walked down together.

God, I hoped he'd turn out ok.


	14. Just Like Batman

It had been two weeks since Dave had managed to get out of hospital. I'd been going round his house practically every day to make sure he was alright- I mean, it'd be a little inconvenient if he died and all.

I'd been round so much that his dad told me to just walk right in- he'd even joked about getting me my own key. It would be a little easier that wearing down my knuckles, I suppose.

I was currently sat cross legged on Dave's bed as I tried to help him with the shit load of homework he'd been given as a 'welcome back' present for missing three months of school- and since he still wasn't going, I was assigned to take him his homework every day, and hand it in.

"You suck at maths." My voice was blunt as I chucked a grape into his mouth. He grumbled slightly, shrugging.

"I don't suck that much-" I shot him a look, "Just cause you're smart, doesn't mean everyone else is stupid." I let out a small laugh and flopped forwards, so I was lying next to him on the bed.

"Oooh, such strong morals, Dave. You could be the next Batman."

He suddenly went silent, and I realised what he was thinking about.

"Dave…"

"What? Is it wrong that I wanted to help people? That I wanted to do something good for others just cause I can? I tried, and I failed. I know that, but I don't want to give it up…not really."

I sighed and looked over at him.

"Dave, I never said you should stop." He looked up, a little shocked.

"What? You're not gonna tell me it's dangerous? That there are more gangsters out there with knives, and next time I won't be so lucky? That I could be killed in a number of ways, by a number of different people? Not even that I look a little gay in the suit?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Dude, quit it! It is dangerous. And there are a shit load more gangsters out there- with guns too. You could be killed in a hell of a lot of ways, and no. You don't look a little gay- you look very gay. But, it's doing good, and you had a certain look in your eyes when you spoke about it. I think you should just do what you want. I'm not gonna stand in your way."

He stared at me quietly for a moment.

"…That…wasn't reassuring. I didn't even think about knives, and – wait. Do I really look that gay?"

"Yeah…you kinda do. I mean, the rumours at school don't help either, but I suppose they don't know what really happened."

I had been a little shocked at first, when Dave told me about 'Kickass' and the whole superhero thing, but after about twenty minutes of me accusing him of having mental issues, I calmed down and realised that I should just accept it. That and I kind of hoped he'd turn out like batman, so I could go in the batmobile…

"Have they gotten much worse?" I thought about it- might as well be honest.

"Kinda…they're saying that you pimp yourself out for extra money, ended up badly after a gang bang- I won't go into detail- and that you threw yourself in front of the car because you couldn't face our sexuality."

He stared at me, wide eyes for a few moments, disbelief on his face. I tried to give him an encouraging smile, but his eyes seemed to go wider, so I stopped. Damn…maybe I should've been a little nicer…

Eh, well. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

"So…um…you get to go back in a couple of months! Betcha can't wait, huh?"

"Oh yeah, I can't wait to go back and hear all the rumours first hand." He snapped a little, before sighing, "I'm sorry, I-"

I laughed and shook my head.

"Jesus Dave, you're such a girl. I'm not gonna hate you cause you snapped once. Anyway, it's not gonna be that bad, right?" He shot me a look.

"What makes you think that? They're gonna surround me like vultures as soon as I step in. Or worse, laugh. Or they might-"

"Or they might not even notice you. I mean, no offence Dave, but it's not the talk of the entire school. Only Katie's really been going on about it, and even though she's popular, she's the only one still talking about it."

I sent him a smile then, looking up at him.

"Besides…you'll have me." A goofy grin spread across his face then, and I couldn't help but let my own smile tug at my lips.

"HEY DAVE! YOU WANT CURLY FRIES OR PIZZA FOR DINNER?" I tried to hold in my laughter at Dave's dad's question, and decided to get up as Dave's face twisted in annoyance and slight exasperation.

"I DON'T CARE!" I let out a laugh and leaned down, kissing his cheek quickly.

"I'll see you tomorrow."


	15. Donning the Wetsuit?

I spent a lot of time thinking about Kickass- well, Dave really, but mostly what he had tried to do as the masked crusader. I'd always been a good fighter; it was something that Brian had ingrained into my brain ever since my dad had died. He didn't want me to meet the same fate- and if I did, I'd be damned if I didn't go down without a bloody good fight.

I spent a lot of time wondering if I could help Dave- get my own mask and wetsuit, stand beside him and make sure he didn't become paraplegic by the end of it all.

I also spent a lot of time thinking about the consequences.

It was a great idea- something that I'd do…if I wasn't so scared of the consequences. I was fine with Dave doing it- heck, secretly I thought it was kind of hot and brave that he was so willing to do things right. But god I was scared. I had seen what had become of my dad- they made me identify the body, and I'd seen what they did to him…

And that was to someone who hadn't pissed them off, or gotten on their bad side. It scared me to know that they could do a lot worse when they had incentive.

I was also worried about what would happen if I wound up dead- Brian had spent hours at night telling me all of the little things that would lead to him losing it if I ever left him. There would be no one for him to see grow up. There would be no one for him to rely on- no solid person in his life that he could depend on and vice versa. There would be no one for him to come home, to put on a smile for. He'd spent so long telling me all this and it was the main reason I was careful- I had taken up self-defence for him, carried around the pepper spray for him, stayed away from alley ways and shady looking people.

I didn't want him to lose something because I did something stupid.

I had spent so much time thinking it through, and now I was certain. The only way I would be wearing a wet suit would be for swimming, and the only way I'd help Dave would be by making sure he wasn't too badly beat up when he got back.

God, I felt like such a girl. But I wouldn't become some masked criminal and sacrifice Brian.

I scowled at my food, jabbing it with my fork. Why'd I have to think it through at lunch? It was one of my favourite times of the day, and I had annoyed myself.

"You ok?" I jumped at the interruption, looking up at Marty and forcing a smile. He returned the favour and flopped into his seat.

"It's good Dave's back now, huh? People think we're Samaritans and shit 'cause were still hanging out with him." I rolled my eyes at that- Marty and Todd had been drinking up all the attention from the girls who thought they were 'so sweet' for helping out Dave.

"You're such an ass. Where is he anyway?" Todd shrugged next to me, shovelling some food into his mouth.

"Oh wait, look." I raised an eyebrow and looked up to see Dave being dragged into the cafeteria with Katie and her friends, over to their table.

"The fuck?" I frowned at the sight, wondering why he was sitting with them.

"Weird…I thought he was over her now." I felt both of them staring at me, and looked up from my incredibly interesting fries.

"Guess not. I'm gonna go study or something." I quickly stood up and walked out the cafeteria as casually as possible.

Why was Dave hanging out with her? She was the one that had started all the rumours- I'd gotten all the texts she'd sent me about him, yet now she was all over him. He'd only been back for a week or two now…

"Hey! Taylor!" I jumped and turned around to see Jed, the guy who'd annoyed me on the way to Katie's, jogging over.

"Oh…hi…" I muttered the words, not really wanting to start a conversation.

"So, Katie says your single, and I still think you're pretty hot…" I raised an eyebrow, looking over at him briefly, before turning back to staring at the ground and hoping to become invisible.

"You wanna go out sometime?" I almost jumped at the question- it had come after a surprising bout of silence, and I almost wasn't expecting it.

"What?" The words came out a little harsher than I intended, and he put up his hands in mock surrender.

"Only as friends, you know? I mean, that little dude, the gay one, is being targeted by Katie, so I thought maybe you'd need someone to…be with." He gave a cheesy grin afterwards, clearly thinking that the person I needed was him.

Wait, Katie was targeting Dave? What was that supposed to mean? And _why_?

A small cough interrupted my train of thought.

Oh, right, Jed still hadn't left.

"Eh…sure. When do you-"

"Today, after school. I'll show you the cool side of town. You probably haven't seen a lot of it, what with the nerds and stuff."

Before I could say anything, the bell rang, and Jed went bounding off to his friends, high fiving and whooping about something or other.

Great; my best friend has been whisked off by the school bitch, and I was stuck hanging out with an idiot. To think; only half an hour ago, my biggest problem was whether or not to wear a wetsuit.


	16. A Walk In The Park

The dreaded end of school had come, and I was delaying walking out of the classroom by putting all my stuff away as slowly as possible.

Ok, so all of my pencils were lined up neatly in my pencil case…now to put it carefully into my bag and-

"Could you hurry up? I want to go home." I looked up at the teacher who had snapped at me, standing by the door, holding it open with a glare.

Well, there goes the plan.

I shoved my stuff quickly into my bag, peeking out of the room before walking slowly and quietly through the halls.

Just as the doors were in sight, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and jumped with a small squeak of shock.

A laugh cut through my panic, and I looked up to see Jed grinning down at me. Since when was I so small?

Well, probably since I was only five foot four, but when did he get so tall? I don't remember him looking down at me before. I bet I get neck strain or something if I have to look up at him all the time. Dave's the perfect height; a little taller, but not so that I feel like a midget.

"Oh…hey…" He grinned at me, and slung his arm over my shoulders, guiding me out the doors happily.

"Hey! So, you ready to bust this joint and have some real fun? I'm gonna take you down to the park, and we can hang there for a while- don't worry though, we can get some drink on the way."

Gee, the park. At least it was a nice day…

"OK…" My voice sounded a bit reluctant- he must've picked up on that though, because he grinned in a way I was almost certain was supposed to be reassuring.

"Don't worry- It's cool. I think Katie's taking Dave there too, so we can laugh at them." I couldn't help but grin at the last part.

"I'm sold- now hurry up, before I change my mind." He laughed, and we started walking a little faster.

-AT THE PARK-

Jed was actually not all that bad; I think I judged him too quickly. We'd managed to keep up a good conversation, and though we barely liked any of the same things, we still got along great; especially since I'd told him to quit it with the flirting.

"So, you're not all bad for a comic nerd." I raised an eyebrow at this, looking over at him.

"Is that what 'you people' call me?" He smirked at that.

"'My people'?" I laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, you know…jerks." He scoffed and shoved me, grinning to show he was joking.

"I suppose you're not too bad for a…." I thought for a few seconds, then shrugged, "You."

"For a 'me'." He repeated it, then shook his head with a short laugh.

"So, why'd you move over here, anyway?" I gave him an exaggerated sad look and pout.

"Daddy issues." He smirked and raised a brow, and I returned it with a shrug.

"I'm serious- really. They're daddy issues revolving around the fact that I…don't have one." I cringed slightly, trying to shrug it off.

"That's a bummer. Sorry. Here's more booze." I grinned at that- finally, someone who didn't bug me with sympathy.

I plucked the bottle from his hand with a smirk and took a swig. Drinking in parks wasn't my usual thing, but I decided to make an exception, since he was paying and I didn't have anything better to do.

"Hey- there's Katie and Dave." I looked up almost instantly, blushing slightly when I realised how desperate I must've looked.

They were walking along, holding hands.

Dave looked a little awkward and stiff next to her, and I smirked slightly. Good. He deserved to be awkward.

"So…you know I still think you're hot, and we've been getting on well, right?" Oh god, please say he wasn't going to ask me to be his girlfriend or something…

"Yes…"

"Well, I feel that we're now close enough to be able to get some revenge. I don't like the little nerd, and I'm kinda sure you don't like Katie so…" He gave me a suggestive look and I grinned.

"You know, I like your evil side a lot more than your jerk side."

"Compliment or insult?"

"Just take it, whatever. Now, what to do?"

"I was thinking humping in front of them or something?" I looked up shocked, then burst out laughing at his serious face, secretly relieved when he started joining in.

"…Kissing?"

"I've already kissed a guy to get another to go away."

"Awesome, then this should be easy for you." I scoffed and slapped him.

"The guy I kissed was Dave." He raised an eyebrow, and I saw irritancy flash in his eyes.

"Well then, now I'm definitely going to have to kiss you, if the nerd did."

"Hey! Jed! Taylor!" Just as I was about to turn to address Katie, who had called over to us, Jed grabbed my face and pressed his mouth to mine, holding me to him.


	17. One Big Mess

I pulled away instantly, staring at him in horror. My head whipped around to see Katie looking shocked and irritated, and Dave…oh great, that look will haunt me forever. Since when did he learn to do puppy dog eyes so well? Damn him.

I turned to see Jed grinning like a fool.

So I slapped the damn grin off his face.

"What the hell? Why did you do that, you idiot?!" He looked shocked, as though he hadn't expected it.

"Hey, I told you I was going to do it!"

"That doesn't mean you should have! God, you asshole…" I started to get up, but he dragged me back down.

"Listen, can we just-"

"Just what? Make out a little more to hit home? Damn, I'm angry at Dave but I'm not a freaking slut!"

I started walking quickly away. I didn't even have the decency to look at him. God, this was a mess. Why did I even agree to this in the first place?

No. I am not going to blame myself. Dave is as much to blame as me, the stupid clueless nerd.

I practically ran home then, wanting to be inside, sheltered, just for a little bit.

"Hey kiddo, what's up?"

"Nothing. Today's been great- I socialised and-"

"What's wrong?" I paused for a moment, looked at him, and just shrugged.

"Don't wanna talk about it- maybe tomorrow." He nodded and rolled his eyes, pointing upstairs.

Thank god he wasn't the type to pry into my life. He always let me cool down…so long as I wasn't crying. If I did start to cry he had a tendency to get out his taser and a baseball bat and demand who did it.

The thought of Jed being electrocuted _did _sound appealing…

* * *

><p>-DAVES POV-<p>

Katie dragged me outside almost as soon as school was over. I tried to wait for Taylor, but I couldn't see her anywhere. Damn, she looked annoyed at lunch. What could I do? Katie insisted I sit with her for lunch, and I didn't see Taylor till I sat down.

We were currently walking to the park- she'd bid her friends leave us so that we could have a 'private' talk.

I was both excited and dreading it for the exact same reason- If she did want to go out with me, would I? I'd had a crush on her for years but… then there was Taylor. She was amazing, and she'd never insulted me or laughed at me…well, save the time she shot pepper spray in my eyes, but afterwards we both laughed about it.

Did I still fancy Katie? I looked over at her. She was pretty, with her dark hair and smooth skin, and pretty smile…but she was too tanned. Her hair didn't shine all different types of gold like Taylor's did. Her eyes didn't turn a honey colour in the light. Her laugh was too nasally and mean.

"So, are you gay?"

What?

"Am I…what?"

"Gay. Like, I've heard the rumours and stuff about what happened, and I'm so sorry for you Dave. To have to do that for money…I'll be there for you. You never have to do that again, I promise. Just…come to me, don't put yourself in danger like that."

I stared at her for a while, then looked down.

Guess I don't have to make a decision then. She thinks I'm fucking gay. Strangely, it makes a lot of sense. Now I realise that she didn't offer me the shopping trip as an excuse to hang out, but to be there for goddamn advice.

"No…I'm not-"

"Hey, is that Jed and…Taylor? Oh my god! That is so not fair, she should know that I'm into him. Let's go over. They're looking at us."

Taylor? Did she say Taylor?

I looked over quickly and saw her sitting next to the dude she'd always openly avoided. What was she doing with him? I thought she hated him…

My stomach flopped. Oh god, what if they were secretly going out? What if she only avoided him at school, and then afterwards they got together?

"Hey! Jed! Taylor!" Why would she do that?!

The they kissed. Katie gasped. I felt…sad. Really, really sad and shitty. Damn, why did I even think I had a chance?

Then she shoved him away. She looked over quickly, got up and walked away. That was weird…why did they kiss if she was just going to push him away? Did that mean they weren't together.

Oh, screw this. I will ask her. I will go to her house and ask her.

"Dave! Where are you going?!" I turned to Katie, and with a new found confidence, replied.

"I'm not gay." Yeah, I think I still need to work on my one liners.

By the time I reached her house, I was out of breath and almost certain that I needed an inhaler. I knocked on the door and waited, nerves attacking me, screaming at me to run, but I refused.

If only I was wearing my kickass costume. The mask always made me feel braver.

Brian opened the door, and stared at me for a few moments before letting out a deep sigh.

"She's in her room. If you make her cry, I make you bleed." And then he stepped aside.

Well, great, now I was full of confidence.

I squeaked out a thanks and hurried up the stairs, stumbling slightly.

And then I got to her door. Oh god, what if I've screwed things up? What did I do? What did she do? What are we doing?

Joy, I sound like the teenage girl Toddy's always telling me I am. But screw it.

I raised my fist and knocked.


	18. Reconciliations and A Red Mist

TAYLOR'S POV

I sighed as I heard knocking on my door. Great, I'd have to face Brian's long emotional speeches now. I knew I never should have just ran home and ignored that Jed dude.

But when I opened the door, to my surprise, Dave stood there, all wide eyed and out of breath.

I stared for a few moments, wondering what to do, when he tried to speak.

"Taylor…I…I'm sorry…" I frowned at that. What was he sorry for?

"What? Why? What did you do?" He looked a little shocked at that.

"Well…at lunch, I sat with Katie, not you and the guys so…" I sighed at that, looking down.

"You can sit with whoever you want at lunch- I don't control you, Dave." As I said the words- albeit slightly grumpily- I realised that they were true. So what if he sat by Katie? I wasn't going to control his life.

And then he said something I was not expecting.

"Katie thinks I'm gay. Or at least…she did. Until I told her I wasn't."

I lasted about five seconds before I started cracking up.

"Wh-what?"

"It's not funny!" He voice was defensive, but I could see the corners of his lips tugging up.

"Trust me, it is. I mean, I heard the rumours and stuff, but you played along with it?" He was turning red now.

"Well…I was trying to take advantage…."

"And what, you'd suddenly come out and say you're not gay after she invites you to a sleepover and gets you to rub fake tan all over her naked body? Yeah, that was a great plan."

"Well, you…you went on a date with Jed!" And now it was my turn to flush red.

"It wasn't a date! He invited me out and I couldn't say no and then he kissed me and…yeah…" I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.

He sighed and looked down and I closed my eyes and pressed my face into the wall.

"Ok. How about we forget this day ever happened?" I was mumbling to the wall now, but I saw Dave nod out of the corner of my eye.

"One thing though…" I looked up curiously.

"Well…I got kinda…jealous? And I'm thinking maybe you did too. What…what are we gonna do about that?"

Good question. What were we going to do? I had feelings for Dave. I'd be a dumbass not to admit that after today.

"Um…we could…try. You know, the boyfriend and girlfriend thing. Maybe…we could start it off a little quiet, just until we're comfortable?"

His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and I couldn't help but reciprocate the smile on his face.

* * *

><p>-DAVE'S POV-<p>

Tonight had to be one of the greatest nights of my life. I was going out with Taylor! Secretly, but I was still going out with her. I kissed her. And she kissed back. Granted, we'd already kissed, but that didn't really count.

I tugged at my kickass suit as I strolled along the darkening streets. Damn it was stuffy in here.

It was the first time I'd been kickass since the accident, and I strolled around with a new-found vigour, batons ready and mind-set in focus of dealing with crime.

I would _become_ kickass. I would _help_ people.

A noise to my left alerted my attention and my head snapped in the direction. A dark shape flittered between the cans, and I pulled out my batons and moved slowly towards the sound.

"Argh! Please, stop!"

I jumped round the corner to see someone getting beat up by a guy in a dark hoodie.

Time to kick some ass.

I lunged forwards and tore the guy off the man getting beat up. He scurried away quickly, retreating down an alley, but the one I'd grabbed twisted and punched me in the face.

I quickly slammed my bat into his ribs, jumping about in a strange yet somehow working fashion. The guy punched at my randomly moving body, missing more times than none.

"You think it's clever to beat up on guys in an alley? Huh?" I slammed my body into his, waving my fists wildly and managing to land a few punches.

"And what the fuck do you think you're doing?" His voice snarled back.

"Beating up on a guy who deserves a taste of his own medicine. I've heard a lot about you from others round here." My voice growled back, a final blow to the head knocking him out cold.

I stood, panting, and pulled back the hood of his jacket, eyes widening as I saw who it was. Jesus. Did I really just beat him up?

* * *

><p>A dark figure approached the body that was beginning to show signs of consciousness.<p>

"Hey, man, you ok?" The man retracted quickly, scowling at the red gloved hand and the strange guy dressed in red with spiked up hair.

"Get the fuck away from me. How many costumed freaks does this city have?" His voice was venom as he pushed his sore body away.

"I'm not a freak. I'm Red Mist." The man clothed in red leather spoke matter of factly.

"So what? I just wanna go the fuck home."

"I saw you got beaten up by kickass just then. He's a nuisance, isn't he?" The man on the floor looked suspicious of his words, but nodded for him to go on.

"Well, he annoys me too. And I could use somewhat of a…sidekick, you see. I think you'll do."

The man considered this for a while, and, deciding not to run the risk of getting beaten up by yet another costumed weirdo, spoke up.

"Fine. But I don't have to wear a stupid costume, do I?" Red Mist shrugged.

"A mask would be useful to hide your face, but otherwise, you can wear whatever." He nodded

"Okay then. I'm in."

Jed stood up and shook hands with his new partner.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry it's been a while! I'll try and update a bit more :D Hope you enjoyed, and please comment; good or bad :)<p> 


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